Uruguay, Day 3

One of the areas I passed on horseback this morning.

I don’t know why I always start my blog entries with how much sleep I got the night before, but I think it’s because when I start to write about my day I find myself wondering why I’m so tired. And then I remember how little sleep I got, and the reason for it returns and re-boggles my mind. For example, this morning I was awakened by a cacophony of parrot screeches. It didn’t happen yesterday, so I can safely say that this is the first time wild parrot noise has ever woken me up. Unfortunately, the screeches started at 5:30 a.m. And parrots, it must be said, have got to be the noisiest birds in the world.

In any case, I dragged myself out of bed a few hours after being startled awake and had the same sort of breakfast I had yesterday. After chasing down a huge mug of coffee I headed to the horse stable to find Beto, and in a matter of minutes he was saddling up Lucia again and helping me up on her back. There was a little boy joining us, too, who was the son of an employee at the estancia. He couldn’t have been more than five or six, but he really knew how to ride a horse. In fact, he was so small that he could lie on his back in the saddle as the horse was moving, or lie all the way forward, or all the way to either side. He was really interested in watching the horse eat and drink, and I guess I was having fun watching him, as he seemed so at ease on the horse.

With only the three of us on the excursion, it was an especially tranquil morning. We went in the opposite direction that I rode yesterday, and we came upon a number of beautiful ponds, rolling hills, farmhouses, and grazing animals.



We rode for probably 90 minutes, and Beto, our leader, seemed to be doing a check on all the animals we passed.


At one point we came upon a tiny calf lying on the ground against a barbed wire fence. Its mother was maybe fifty meters away, chewing on grass. Beto told us that the calf was probably only two or three hours old, and he got off his horse and started to nudge it. At first I thought he was trying to chase it away from the barbed wire, but I don’t think that’s what he was after. The calf struggled to stand, and when it was on all fours it either butted its head into Beto’s knees or simply fell into him, I’m not sure which. But at this point it was caught in the barbed wire fence. It started crying then, which finally got the attention of its mother. I think this was what Beto was trying to do, because the mother approached, forcing our horses to retreat some, and the mother and her calf eventually made it over the fence and into a field. They walked some distance and then the calf began to take its first milk from her.


Beto seemed satisfied by this, and we were on our way again. Almost immediately after we’d left this scene we came upon the scattered remains of a dead colt, which a farmer had apparently tried to cremate in his field. It was the cycle of life come full circle in this beautiful but wild landscape.

We continued on from here, through fields of tall grasses where sheep, cows, horses, and burros leisurely fed.


After another fifteen minutes we made it to a farmhouse where Beto stopped and talked to two men.

My horse was getting antsy, and it was a struggle to keep her from eating the grass around us as we waited. I was just glad she didn’t bolt or buck.

The morning got progressively warmer, and at around 11:00 we started to head back. We passed through more fields, one of which contained stacks of firewood that must have gone on for a quarter mile.

When we got back, my legs were really sore – I’m not sure why – and I can just imagine how relieved Lucia was to be back standing in the shade among her fellow horses.

The estancia changed its lunch set-up, and rather than doing a buffet again they served us an actual menu that they’d prepared. First came carrot soup, which I was happy to have, followed by a “salad” of grilled eggplant, tomato, lettuce, cabbage, onions, ham, cheese, a small pile of shaved carrots, and a squirt of barbecue sauce.



It was nothing special. I think there was a little too much going on in it, and the ham and cheese might have been better left out. Still, I ate it, so it obviously was okay.

After that came a plate of cooked lamb medallions, accompanied by potato wedges, grilled onion, and mushrooms.


I could have used more edible green color with this entrée, and also more flavor. It was a very mild dish, and the lamb was a bit on the fatty side. Still, I ate it, so it couldn’t have been all bad.

Finally I was given a choice of desserts, and I went with whatever the waiter told me had ice cream and meringue – the only Spanish words I understood in his explanation. But when he brought it, I’m sure I blushed.


It was huge. It was made of meringue and had chocolate sauce, a yellow cake, ice cream, and frozen peaches underneath. It was really good, even though it was way, way too much dessert.

I took a historical tour of the estancia after lunch, given by Beto. I was the only one who went. The tour lasted maybe one hour, and I understood maybe 5% of what Beto explained; he talked the entire time. He occasionally stopped to ask if I understood him, and because he was working so hard and obviously didn’t want me to say no, I said, “Yes, more or less.” And then I’d ask him a question to derail his suspicion that I understood absolutely nothing. By the time he’d finished, I was utterly exhausted from trying to understand what he’d been saying.

But I couldn’t rest for long, because Beto led another horseback excursion two hours later. We went in another direction this time, and he and I were joined by a family from Montevideo with two young children who sat in their laps as they rode.


I think it’s safe to say that they were more advanced riders than I was. This time Lucia and I rode through quite a bit of mud and water, the last bit of which she enjoyed because she got to suck down a couple gallons during our half-minute stop.






We circled back to the area when I’d ridden that morning, and soon we approached the estancia from a path that ran beside Route 6.





Dinner was served at 9, as always, and I got there early when I saw that the sun was setting beyond the dining hall. I sat and watched the sun go down while a million parrots screeched overhead.


One of the waiters tapped on the glass window of the dining hall to let me know I could enter for dinner, so I came inside, ordered some wine and water, and waited for a new menu to be served – again, no buffet tonight. I started off with more carrot soup, followed by a salad in name only – it was a ham and cheese omelet cut into strips; oh yeah, and some tomato slivers were on the back of the plate, too.


After that came spinach lasagna, that was actually quite good.


I was totally full by the time I finished that, but when they offered me fruit salad for dessert I figured that some Vitamin C couldn’t hurt.

Tomorrow I head to Montevideo. It’s too bad I have to leave this place, as I could see myself staying here longer. It’s definitely the kind of place that I could see myself returning to. You get a wonderful experience here for the price you pay.

Uruguay, Day 2

Horses in the field at dusk.

Today I woke up at 8 a.m., and although I could have slept longer, I remembered that breakfast opened then and the estancia’s morning horseback excursion started at 9:30. So I grabbed a shower and went to have breakfast. There was a fairly good selection here, and I piled on a little bit of everything and got myself a cup of very good, very strong coffee.

Breakfast of horsemen...

After breakfast I went down to the estancia’s stable of horses, where two gauchos were boiling water on a fire and making maté, which is a tea-like drink popular in this part of South America, and is made with the leaves of a kind of holly shrub.

Maté fire and gaucho on right drinking a cupful.

It’s an interesting experience coming from a coffee-culture; there a long metal “straw,” which I assume has a filter, and the cup used was bound in leather to protect one’s hands from the heat. They passed the maté between themselves, then passed it to me and told me to drink the whole cup if I wished. I took about four drinks and passed it back. It was nice – slightly bitter, but otherwise very tea-like.

Instead of departing on the horseback excursion at 9:30, we ended up leaving at around 10:45. I was given a horse named Lucia, and quickly saddled up.

My view from atop Lucia.

This was the first horseback ride of my life, and for the first few minutes, as we sat there waiting to go, I didn’t feel very safe on Lucia. But as soon as we started moving, whatever balance issues I had went away. Even when Lucia broke into a trot I felt perfectly comfortable, and soon it became an experience that I realized could be highly addicting. Especially in such an amazing setting.

Setting out with what seemed to be an experienced group.

Our first stop was here, in the middle of a field.

Our group of horseback riders.

Shortly after we set off, our gaucho leader explained some of the things we were seeing, but since it was in Spanish I couldn’t understand most of it. However, after about ten or fifteen minutes the second gaucho, who was following the group, asked me if I wanted to go a little farther with him and I said, sure, porque no. Little did I realize that I was getting a private tour of the surroundings. My guide took me through rolling pastureland, past small ponds, hillsides full of sheep and cows, and through tall, wet grasses filled with grasshoppers, cicadas, and other insects.

It was hard to take photos while riding, mostly because I needed two hands to work the camera.

It became a lot more peaceful (aside from the constant horse farts) when it was just me, my guide, and our two horses.

As the horses moved along, the many insects flew into the air, which attracted a lot of birds, particularly swallows. So as we cut through the tall grasses we were being circled by birds, some of which dared to pass in between the narrow space between my horse and the gaucho’s. It was a fantastic outing, and I’ve decided to stay an extra day here to do more tomorrow.

After about an hour’s worth of horseback riding we returned to San Pedro de Timote and I got off Lucia. Before I did, though, the guide asked me if I wanted my photo taken. Normally I don’t like photos taken of myself, but this time I figured why not. I’ll even post one here for friends and family who might otherwise not believe me…

Me on a horse. I pity the horse the extra pounds I've put on this trip.

After that I wandered around the estancia more, and entered the property’s old church, which an old guest from Uruguay told me I should try to see.

From there I came upon a herd of cows making their way through the grass in front of the estancia, eating whatever they liked.

Free-range cows, apparently.

There were parrots in the trees here, just as there are parrots all over the estancia grounds, and all morning they’ve been making a racket like no other type of bird I’ve ever known. But they’re also a beautiful sight when streaking green across a cloudless blue sky.

Bad photo of several parrots overhead.

One of the smaller estancia dogs spotted me under the parrot tree and came running toward me, barking, but once she saw it was me – I played with her for about twenty minutes at the gaucho’s maté drinking area – she immediately rolled on her back and demanded to have her tummy scratched.

This dog is a nutcase.

Two more of the estancia dogs approached then, and I had a big job of petting to do. At least until my hands got so dirty from their fur that I had to go back to my room and thoroughly wash them.

I headed to lunch, which was served from 1-3, and was happy to see two cooks grilling meats and vegetables in an oven in the wall.

Mmm, Uruguayan grill.

I learned quickly that when the cook said, “This is beef,” and I repeated, “That’s beef,” he would take a chunk of it and put it on my plate. This happened with “This is sausage,” too, but when he said, “This is chicken,” I simply said, “No,” and he moved on to the next item. The last item I got from the oven was a grilled red pepper. I also piled onto my plate a few things from the salad selection, as well as some potatoes, beans, tomatoes, and bread.

It was a great lunch, and I finished it off with more coffee. Yum.

On my way out of the dining room I was spotted by an old dog that was graying at her muzzle, and she gave me a really cute, but totally dumb, look – this is one of the dumbest-looking dogs I’ve seen in a while – so I had no choice but to pet her. And then I had to pet her more, because when I stopped initially she placed her paw on my leg and looked at me even dumber than before.

Just look at that dumb face. How can you not like it?

I didn’t do much this afternoon, at least not until 3:30 when this morning’s gauchos took us down the road to a local cheese-maker and dairy farmer whose operations are known in Uruguay as Queso Jersey.

Our transport, whatever it is.

Entrance to cheese maker and dairy farm.

As soon as we arrived we were asked to put on booties to protect our feet from the liquid cheese run-off, or whatever was on the floor – I couldn’t understand the explanation well. We were then shown one of the rooms where cheese is made and put into something like a canister, where it’s then stored in a cooler environment.


We were then led to a room where molding occurs, and the smell was fairly intense.

Moldy cheese.

Unfortunately, I just couldn’t understand the explanations being given, but I did take a lot of photos as you can see below.




After going through the different cheese rooms, and sampling some of the freshest cheese that was available – there was a lot – a few people in the group bought some to take home to Montevideo.

Here's what the final product looks like.

We were then shown an area where the cows were milked – not by hand.

This cow seemed surprised to see us.

I can't believe the cows find these comfortable...

This was followed by a quick tour of three small fields behind the main building where cows of different ages were kept and fed water and food from plastic troughs.

Mmm, cow ear. Notice that a cow on the right is also chewing on its neighbor's ear.

These calves were only 3-6 days old.

It was an interesting tour despite the language barrier, and I appreciated people’s attempts to help me understand what I was seeing.

When we came back I immediately jumped in one of the pools, then decided that the water was a little suspect and decided to take a shower. After that, tea time; after that, ping-pong with one of the guys I hung out with at dinner last night.

When it came time for dinner tonight, I had my share of what were now familiar buffet items.



And for dessert, as if to pretend that this would undo all my unhealthy eating for the day, I ended with some diced fruit.

Rather than return to Montevideo, I’ve decided to stay here an extra day. It’s just too peaceful here to move on so quickly. I must say that I’m spending a lot here – it’s $110 a night at San Pedro de Timote – but included in that price are three meals a day, tea time, two horseback riding trips (I missed the second one today because I was hanging out with people at the pool), and any local excursions that happen to be organized. To me, that’s an amazing deal and I’m going to take advantage of it tomorrow, too.